chriscolfer

Title: The Enchantress Returns
Author: Chris Colfer
Published: August 2013 by Little Brown Books
517 pages
Second in The Land of Stories seriesClick here to find it on Goodreads

Colfer is the king of making me smile. In this sequel to The Wishing Spell, thirteen year old twins Alex and Conner Bailey return to the land of stories after their mother has been kidnapped by the evil enchantress. They once again meet their old friends along the way as they try to rescue their mom. There is no lack of adventure in this book as the twins try to fulfill their quest.

Colfer has created an amazing world that you can get lost in for hours. While reading this it felt like all my troubles had gone away and I was simply a young girl again wandering through the land of stories. I love the development and personality that goes into his characters. I’ve never had so many characters that actually make me laugh out loud.

In only two books I have grown so attached to each character and the whole land of stories world. I honestly wish this series would continue forever. I will be so sad when it ends.

My favorite quotes:
“I bet he would say that anyone can have a once-upon-a-time or a happily-ever-after, but it’s the journey between that makes the story worth telling,” Alex said. “And how characters face the challenges at hand is what makes them heroes.”

“Or maybe this is about my report on Animal Farm?” Conner said. “I know I said, ‘I wish George Orwell had used something to represent politics that didn’t give me a major craving for a bacon cheeseburger,’ but that’s really how I felt; I wasn’t trying to be funny.”

“Intelligence is not a competition,” she said. “There is plenty to go around, and there are many ways it can be demonstrated.”

“Let me think,” Mother Goose said. “We had the Dragon Age, the Age of Magic, and we’re currently in the Golden Age. Well, it used to be the Golden Age until all this drama happened.”
“The Dragon Age?” Conner asked excitedly. “You mean there were dragons in the fairy-tale world?”
“Tons of them,” Mother Goose said. “It was a mess! Disasters and barbecues left and right! They’re extinct now, kind of like your dinosaurs.”

The twins both hopped out of the carriage and crouched on the ground. Red was next to hop out and landed directly in the middle of them. Her gown exploded out of the carriage and securely covered the twins below her. It was perfect!“So far so good,” Alex whispered under Red’s dress.
“Nice bloomers, Red,” Conner said, chuckling about the knee-length undershorts she had strategically put on.
Red grunted and kneed Alex in the head.
“Ouch! That was me, Red!” Alex said.
“Apologies,” Red said and then kneed Conner in the head.

“You’re not like any other woman I’ve ever met,” Alex told her.
“Why is that?” Goldilocks asked.
“You’re just so confident and self-sufficient,” Alex said. “So many girls-especially in our world-are so insecure and jealous. We rely so much on one another, but we’re so mean to each other at the same time. We could use more women like you to look up to.”

——

I promise you this book is worth the read. If you are turned off because it is targeted towards a younger audience, I am telling you to give it a try anyway. It is too cute and fluffy to pass up!

Another easy 5 star rating and I can’t wait to get to the next book in the series!

It’s almost time for me to put my feet up and relax for the weekend. I don’t have much planned, hopefully going to see the new Maze Runner movie. Other than that I hope to just sit on my butt and relax and get a ton of reading and blog work done.

This weekend I am reading The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer. This is the second book in The Land of Stories series. It is a super fun and cute read and I should be finishing this within the next hour.Click here to find it on Goodreads
After that I will be moving on to The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Super excited for this read!Click here to find it on Goodreads
Let me know what you are reading this weekend!

I’m having a hard time believing it is my favorite time of year already. Where has this year gone? October is my absolute favorite, with the beautiful colors, the gorgeous weather, the yummy pumpkin treats and Halloween, what’s not to love?

September was probably my worst month of reading so far this year. I only ended up reading eight books when I usually try to get in the double digits. So here are the books I read in September.

1. Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout ★★★
Not my favorite of the series but I am still loving every minute of these books. I will be very sad for the series to end. I am waiting to finish this series to do a full series review.

2. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness ★★★★★
Absolutely adored this book. Do not be fooled by the plot, this one has some pretty heavy content in it. Full review to come this month.

3. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins ★★★★★
An absolute fabulous way to end out the series. I will forever love Stephanie Perkins and I hope she starts working on new books right away. Can’t get enough of her writing.

4. The Good Girl by Mary Kubica ★★★★
My book clubs choice for the month. I was very intrigued with this one and was blown away by the ending. A great thriller thrown in between the contemporary I was reading.

8. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman ★★★
Definitely not what I was expecting. As a dragon lover I had a hard time learning to love these dragons. But I have a full review of this one coming up next week and will let you know more of my thoughts then.

I’ve got a lot on my plate for October. We have received quite a few books for review, Maria and I have a ton of books to read together and I have lots of Halloween and horror posts planned for this month. So I’m going to try and not let myself get overwhelmed with all that. So here are the books I plan to read in October.

1. The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer. Currently reading this one and am halfway through.
2. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Reading with Maria.
3. The Merciless by Danielle Vega. Reading with Maria.
4. Chosen at Nightfall by C.C. Hunter. Reading with Maria.
5. Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson. Reading with Maria, Marissa and Mackenzie.
6. Storm Siren by Mary Weber. Received from Netgalley and will be reviewing with Maria.
7. The Swallow by Charis Cotter. Received from Netgalley and will be reviewing with Maria.
8. When War Calls by Zy J. Rykoa. Making my way through this one and will be reviewing with Maria.
9. Frozen by Melissa De La Cruz and Michael Johnston. Received from Netgalley and will be reviewing with Maria.
10. The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty. My book clubs choice of the month.
11. Horns by Joe Hill. Was on my list last month but didn’t have time to get to it.

As you can see the two of us will have our hands full this month. But you can expect our blog to be very busy this month.

Well August didn’t go quite as I planned it. I was on vacation for the last week and got absolutely no reading done. But I still managed to read 15 books in total.

Books I read in August:1. Taken At Dusk by C.C. Hunter ★★★★This was one of my monthly reads with Maria and hopefully we will have a full review up soon.
2. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare ★★★★
The fourth book in the Mortal Instruments series. Not quite as good as the third, but still a great read and continuation of the story.
3. The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer ★★★★★
One of my favourite reads of the month. I have done a full review and you can find it here: https://readsbymandm.wordpress.com/2014/08/19/book-review-the-wishing-spell-by-chris-colfer/4. Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett ★★★★
Another great installation in the Discworld series, this time about witches instead of wizards. Really starting to adore Pratchett’s quirky and snarky writing style.
5. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris ★★★★
The third book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. I was totally craving this since I have been watching True Blood lately and they are a little bit of a guilty pleasure of mine.
6. Blood Red Road by Moira Young ★★★★
Closer to a 3.5 for this one. I enjoyed it but I’m not too sure when I will continue on with the series.
7. Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout ★★★★I was so totally in the mood for this one, out of the blue I just HAD to pick it up and I am so glad that I did. I’m very happy to be back in this series and I never want it to end.
8. Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight ★★★
A great story line, fast paced and super intriguing but a solid build up to a let down of an ending. So many things could have been done better with this one.
9. Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis ★★★★
Love the Chronicles of Narnia series, this one was much better than The Horse and His Boy. Can’t wait to continue on with the series.
10. Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson ★★★★
This was so so good, especially for a debut novel. It has your mind racing from chapter to chapter. It is very wonderfully written and I highly suggest picking this one up.
11. The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa ★★★★
I went into this one not remembering a single thing from the first book but I quite enjoyed it none the less. I will not wait as long to pick up the third book so I can actually remember what is happening.
12. Atonement by Ian McEwan ★★★
This may be one of those times that I enjoyed the movie a little more than the book. I found some parts to be very dull and I really dragged through. Other parts were beautifully written though and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
13. Allies of the Night by Darren Shan ★★★★★
As always, loved this book. This is the 8th book in the series and I am completely in love. I am dreading the end. Will do a full review once I have finished the series.
14. Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout ★★★★
I couldn’t resist picking this one up. I needed more Daemon in my life. Just as good as the rest.
15. The Lost World by Michael Crichton ★★★
This is the second book in the Jurassic Park series. I have a full review of this series coming soon.

Books I want to read in September:
1. Good Girl by Mary Kubica
2. Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
3. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
4. Whispers at Moonrise by C.C. Hunter
5. Horns by Joe Hill
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. The Giver by Lois Lowry
8. Carrie by Stephen King
9. The Soulstice by Simon Holt
10. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
11. The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry
12. When War Calls by Zy Rykoa
13. The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer
14. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
15. The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp
16. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
17. The Dinner by Herman Koch
18. Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente
19. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Let me know how reading in August was for you and what you plan to read in September!

Title: The Wishing Spell
Author: Chris Colfer
Published: 2012 by Little, Brown Young Readers
438 pages
First in The Land of Stories seriesClick here to find it on Goodreads

I have watched the first couple seasons of Glee and Chris Colfer was always my favourite actor on that show. After reading this book I am now an even more massive fan of him.

Alex and Conner Bailey are teenage twins going through a hard time in their life. The twins grandmother gives them the story book they used to always read as small children and then one night they both accidentally fall into the story book. They find themselves in a strange place full of magic and creatures and they meet the famous characters of the classic fairy tales they read while growing up. But unfortunately leaving is not going to be as easy as they thought.

First I want to talk about the overall presentation of this book. The front and back covers are absolutely stunning and draws you in immediately. We are also provided with a map of The Land of Stories which always earns bonus points.

Colfer absolutely sucks you into the story. He mixes the classic fairy tales with modern day and it is a perfect combination. The characters are all so well done that you can’t help but fall in love with each and every one of them. It is fast paced and an absolutely charming story that I never wanted to end. Thankfully this is a series so I cannot wait to get my hands on the second book as I know I am going to devour it and love every minute of it.

My favourite quotes:
“Right now, we’re living in an ugly chapter of our lives, but books always get better!”
“Even in the worst of situations – even when it seems no one in the world appreciates you – as long as you have hope, everything can get better”
“Sometimes we forget about our own advantages because we focus on what we don’t have. Just because you have to work a little harder at something that seems easier to others doesn’t mean you’re without your own talents”

I listened to the audiobook for this one and I highly suggest if you are wanting to read this one to get the audiobook to go along with it. Colfer reads it himself and it is perfection. He personifies each character so well and puts a lot of emotion into the story telling. Needless to say, I will not hesitate to check out any of his work in the future.

An easy 5/5 star rating from me. Now let’s hope the rest of the series is just as exciting and fabulous!

WELCOME!

readsbymandm is a bookblog that was created in July of 2014 by Mallory and Maria. Here you will find everything between monthly wrap ups and tbrs to book reviews and discussions with our book friends Marissa and Mackenzie. To find exactly what post you are looking for, check out our categories below.